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SUV Hauler Takes A Little Off The Top At Railroad Viaduct: Police

This is the aftermath a car-carrier accident in Riverside, after a driver thought he could clear a railroad viaduct. (Courtesy: Riverside Police Department)

(CBS) – A truck driver hauling several high-end SUVs caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage when he drove under a railroad viaduct in Riverside and sheared off the tops of some of the vehicles, police said.

The incident occurred around 1:30 p.m. Thursday at a viaduct on First Avenue near Parkview Road. Police were called to the scene and saw the aftermath of the accident.

The 59-year-old Michigan man at the wheel of a car carrier – a trailer that transports stacked vehicles – told police he thought he could clear the 14-foot opening under the viaduct. The vehicles on the second level of the car carrier could not clear the structure.

“He continued to drive shearing off the top of several vehicles,” Riverside police said in a news release.

The truck came to rest a block south of the accident scene. The driver was uninjured, and no other injuries were reports.

Police say the viaduct had clear signage indicating its height.

Four new SUVs were damaged. Police estimated the damage to the luxury vehicles “in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.” They were on their way to Chicago rental lots.